Swati Bhargava

Dream11's exit from their ₹358 crore BCCI sponsorship deal - with BCCI waiving penalties due to government regulations - reminded me of a costly lesson I learned during the early IPL mobile rights days. Back then, we had acquired IPL Mobile Digital rights and partnered with Nokia as our exclusive mobile partner. Everything was going well until legislation banned VAS services overnight. When we rushed to review contracts, I discovered a painful reality - Nokia had ironclad protection clauses for regulatory changes, but I had no such mirror provisions with my licensor. Nokia walked away clean. I was left holding the bag. The asymmetry in contract terms taught me that in regulated industries, you're only as protected as your weakest contractual link. Key takeaways for founders: 🔹 Mirror Your Risk Clauses - If you're giving downstream partners regulatory exit clauses, ensure you have identical protection upstream 🔹 Legislative Force Majeure - In sectors like gaming, telecom, or fintech, standard force majeure isn't enough. You need specific regulatory change provisions 🔹 Don't Bank on Goodwill - Dream11 got lucky with BCCI's understanding. Most contracts won't be this forgiving 🔹 Risk Cascade Analysis - Map how regulatory risks flow through your entire contract chain. One weak link can sink the ship The Dream11-BCCI situation shows institutional maturity in handling unforeseen regulatory challenges. But as founders, we can't rely on such understanding. Build your contracts assuming the worst-case scenario - because sometimes it happens. #Startups #Contracts #RiskManagement #IPL #Entrepreneurship #LessonsLearned Kalaari Capital Dream11

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After a fabulous two years at Kae Capital, I knew it was time to build the fund I wished had existed when I was a founder. Today, I’m launching Boundless Ventures, an early-stage, AI-native venture firm backing India-rooted founders who are building globally defensible companies at the intersection of science, systems, and culture. Boundless starts with a simple belief: the next decade’s breakout companies won’t “add AI” as a feature. They’ll be AI-native from day one, rethinking consumer products, enterprise workflows, and infrastructure with new primitives. We’ll write the first cheque ($200–400K), and then double down. We’ve proud to have already partnered with six category-shaping founding teams: • Superhealth: rethinking healthcare from the ground up • Armatrix: autonomous snake-arm robots for engine inspection • PierSight: real-time ocean intelligence • KNOT: AI-native fashion discovery and logistics • Two stealth companies in infra and consumer AI Our thesis spans four arenas: • The AI-native stack: infra, agents, and memory protocols • Make-in-India hardware: autonomous systems, design-led manufacturing • New-India consumer: culture × code • Science × story: where deep tech meets narrative leverage India is not catching up. It’s compounding. Boundless exists to back originals, with speed, belief and storytelling firepower. Link to our website & thesis below.

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Chakki Fresh to ₹120 Cr: How Mitra Turned Stone-Grinding Pain into Growth Gain. Founded in 2023 by Abhishek kaushik, Mitra began with a simple yet bold belief: traditional Chakki (stone‑grinding) freshness matters—not just branding, but nutrition, flavor, and trust. Targeting tier II & III markets where premium quality often felt out of reach, Mitra faced early challenges—convincing small‑town consumers that fresh, high‑goodness flour at mid‑range pricing was worth it. Winning people’s trust in the beginning was the hardest part. By fixing supply issues, earning people’s trust, and getting 9 out of 10 customers to buy again, Mitra turned hesitant buyers into loyal fans. Revenue growth exploded—from ₹11 crore in FY 2024 to ₹40 crore in FY 2025, and projected to cross ₹120 crore this year. Mitra just raised ₹14 crore in a bridge round. These funds will fuel a 3,000‑ton refined flour plant set to go live in October, plus expansion into millet‑based, gluten‑free, diabetic‑friendly flours, sugar‑free options, organic spices—and venture into GCC markets. From convincing small-town shoppers that stone-ground flour truly tastes better, to delivering repeat-purchase rates north of 90%, each milestone has been earned. India’s Flour (Wheat) Market: In 2024, the Indian wheat flour market was valued at approximately USD 8.5 billion, and is expected to grow to USD 11.9 billion by 2033 The #D2C market in India was valued at USD 42.6 billion in FY2024 and is expected to grow to USD 185.2 billion by FY2032, clocking a CAGR of 20.17%

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𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝟯𝟬-𝗠𝗶𝗻𝘂𝘁𝗲 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗺𝗶𝘀𝗲 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱𝗻'𝘁 𝗞𝗲𝗲𝗽 𝗜𝘁𝘀 𝗢𝘄𝗻 𝗗𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲 Blip, the Bengaluru fashion startup that promised to deliver your wardrobe faster than your lunch, has officially pulled the plug after barely surviving a year. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗹𝗶𝗽 𝗦𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆: 𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝗢𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗦𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗲 Founded in 2023 by Ansh Agarwal and Sarvesh Kedia, Blip wanted to be fashion's answer to grocery quick commerce - 25,000 SKUs delivered in 30 minutes from 10+ retail partners. They went live in October 2024, targeting Bengaluru's fashion-conscious millennials who apparently couldn't wait 24 hours for their new kurta. But here's where it gets interesting (and tragic). Blip never raised external funding. Not a rupee. In a sector where players like Zepto have burned through hundreds of millions just to perfect 10-minute grocery delivery, these founders thought they could bootstrap fashion delivery with zero investor backing. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗖𝗵𝗲𝗰𝗸 The founders cited "limited capital and go-to-market challenges" for the shutdown - startup speak for "we ran out of money before figuring out unit economics." Their partner-dependent model meant they were essentially playing middleman while competitors owned their entire supply chain. 𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗠𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀 Blip's collapse isn't just another startup failure story. It's a masterclass in misreading market dynamics. Fashion isn't groceries. When you're craving milk at 11 PM, you'll pay ₹10 extra for 10-minute delivery. But when buying a ₹2000 shirt, customers aren't desperate enough to pay surge pricing for speed. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗰𝗸 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗰𝗲 𝗴𝗼𝗹𝗱 𝗿𝘂𝘀𝗵 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝗹𝗹𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝘆𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 + 𝟯𝟬-𝗺𝗶𝗻𝘂𝘁𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 = 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝘂𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗻. 𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁 𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗰𝘀 𝗱𝗼𝗻'𝘁 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗱𝗲𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗺𝗶𝘀𝗲. 𝗖𝗮𝘀𝗵 𝗳𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀𝗻'𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗰𝘀. While chasing the "Zepto of fashion" dream, Blip forgot that sustainable businesses need sustainable funding. In today's market, speed without capital is just expensive theater! #zepto #business #businessgrowth #startup

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Natasha Malpani Launches ₹200 Crore Fund to Power India’s AI Startups Former Kae Capital partner Natasha Malpani has launched Boundless Ventures, an early-stage venture fund with a corpus of ₹200 crore, dedicated to supporting homegrown AI-native startups across India. The fund will focus on pre-seed and seed-stage investments in companies innovating across consumer AI, infrastructure, agent tooling, healthcare, logistics, deep tech, and make-in-India hardware. Boundless has already written its first cheques to startups including Superhealth, Armatrix, PierSight, Knot, and two stealth ventures in AI infrastructure and consumer AI. Beyond capital, the fund promises to bring narrative and network support to founders. As Malpani puts it, India today has a once-in-a-generation advantage talent density, digital rails, and ambition to build global AI leaders from day one. At Startup Veda, we’re thrilled to see local capital fueling the AI frontier. This fund signals rising maturity in India’s venture ecosystem—placing conviction behind AI-first founders well before the rest of the world catches on. Join the conversation: Which early-stage AI ventures excite you the most? How powerful is the mix of capital + storytelling for building AI startups? #Startup #AI #VentureCapital #DeepTech #StartupIndia #FounderStories

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Rishabh Mariwala and the Sharrp team hosted a kickass workshop for founders yesterday, and I was invited to share thoughts on how QComm is evolving and what it really takes to scale in this space. The room was buzzing: founders from startups across stages and cities, asking sharp questions, challenging assumptions, and getting into the nuts and bolts of growth. One thing that’s become clear — everyone wants to crack QComm, but there is a lot to demystify. A few questions that stood out (and sparked some solid conversations): 💬 In the era of distributed supply chains powering the 10-min experience, how should brands think about demand fulfilment? 💬 What are the right stocking levels to strike the balance between sales and working capital? 💬 For the brands just starting out, what's better? Does it make sense playing deep rather than wide in terms of SKUs? While we had very in-depth discussions on how to address these pain-points, it got me thinking - why keep all the good stuff locked in a room? Over the coming weeks, let's talk more about how brands can solve these problems to crack the growth-code on Qcomm. Feel free to drop any questions you think are worth discussing. Anand Shankar Sharrp Ventures | Harsh Mariwala Investment Office #GobbleCube #QComm

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CHANNEL SURFING, INDIAN STYLE – WELCOME TO JALDI NATION The other day I walked into a general merchandise store. A customer was on video call with the store staff, pointing at pots and pans while the staffer walked the aisles, showing options. It felt like live commerce playing out on a neighbourhood stage. I struck up a chat with the owner. He sighed about quick commerce eating into his business: “I can’t serve early morning or late-night orders. I offer delivery now, I extend credit, but it’s hard to match the convenience of a 10-min app. So I focus on relationships. And if it is a difficult-to-find item, I can get it in a day.” That conversation brought me back to my earlier piece on Jaldi Nation. Many readers asked: who will win this battle among channels? The truth: there won’t be a single winner. Multiple formats will thrive - if they deliver sharply against the job consumers need done at that moment, and if they keep our trust. Here’s how the “jobs to be done” lens plays out: WHEN I NEED IT RIGHT NOW Quick commerce No longer just for bread and chips, the basket keeps widening - OTC medicines, personal care, electronics. The job here is “solve my problem in minutes without friction.” Success hinges on local availability, consistent delivery promises (even as 10 mins stretches to 30), and resisting dark patterns that erode trust. WHEN I WANT BREADTH Online Marketplaces Two-day delivery will be history. “Quick enough” is the baseline: some items in mins, others same-day or next-day. The real job isn’t “show me everything”—it’s “show me what’s available now, what’s worth waiting for, and how to get the best balance of price, speed, and range.” WHEN I WANT TRUST AND CONVENIENCE NEARBY Kirana stores Perfect for small bills, the comfort of credit and “my usual” products. The job is “take care of me like a neighbour would.” To stay competitive, kiranas will need sharper assortment choices, more data-driven stocking, and simple hooks that keep their personal touch intact. WHEN I WANT SCALE AND EXPERIENCE Modern trade Large packs and destination shopping experiences. The job is “make shopping feel like an experience worth my time and money.” To win, modern trade must double down on freshness, touch-and-feel, and immersive merchandising, not just discounts. WHEN I WANT PERSONALISED ENGAGEMENT AND TRIALS Brand websites & apps Still small in share, but critical for loyalty. The job is “help me discover, personalise, and reward me for coming back.” For brands, this means cracking CAC math, driving repeats and retention. In the end, consumers aren’t loyal to channels. We’re loyal to the job that needs to be done at that moment. The boundaries between QC apps, kiranas, marketplaces, brand sites, and modern trade will keep blurring. The real battle isn’t channel versus channel - it’s about who can anticipate our shifting jobs faster, and serve them with trust, speed, and value. How about you? How are your shopping patterns changing?

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